In Brad Pitt's Make It Right development, a derelict New Orleans house is demolished

The moldering shell of a Brad Pitt Make It Right house at 5012 N. Derbigny St. in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward was demolished Saturday morning (June 30). As the jaws of an excavator bit into the foam and wooden walls of the blighted structure, a regrettable chapter in a remarkable project came to close.

Ten years ago, the Hollywood superstar began building architecturally splendid yet affordable homes to replace those ruined by flooding that resulted from failures during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Pitt's program, called Make It Right, erected 111 houses, becoming a recovery-era tourist destination in the process.

But the all-new neighborhood was beset by problems, particularly the failure of a large batch of experimental lumber that began deteriorating much, much sooner than expected. One house seemed to self destruct alarmingly quickly, though the vast majority of the others are in much better condition.

Just seven years ago, 5012 North Derbigny was the site of a handsome new house clad in eye-catching wooden trellises to provide shade. But by 2015, Make It Right had already employed an architect to plan a renovation and redesign of the building because of rain leakage. For reasons unknown, the house did not receive the new roof and replacement trellises of the redesign.

By 2018 the long-unoccupied building was a tattered loaf of rotting wood, fraying tarpaulin and ominous open doorways. Fed up by the eyesore and potential health hazard, Make It Right resident Constance Fowler blew the whistle, making City Hall aware of several building code violations.

A neighborhood resident who asked not to be named said Saturday he was relieved that the building is finally gone. He said he thought that the structure had been looted for scrap, and he feared it was a haven for people seeking a hideaway to use drugs.

Make It Right management has not responsed to repeated requests for comment. Residents report that they are unable regularly to reach the non-profit company. In an interview before the North Derbigny house was destroyed, neighborhood resident Doris Wyman expressed her frustration with questions.

"Where is Mr. Pitt?" she asked. "I wonder, if he saw that house, what would be the first words out of his mouth?"

An excavator destroys the blighted Make It Right house at 5012 N. Derbigny St. in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward on Saturday, June 30, 2018. (Photo by Doug MacCash, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Brad Pitt broke ground in 2008 on his visionary development to replace a Lower 9th Ward neighborhood ruined three years early in Hurricane Katrina's flooding. (Photo by Matthew Hinton, The Times-Picayune)

Make It Right's 10th year anniversary in 2018 was tainted by a neighborhood eyesore. (Photo by Doug MacCash, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Neighbors feared the blighted North Derbigny St. property was a health hazard and potential crime haven. (Photo by Doug MacCash, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

On Saturday, an excavator began crushing the ruined Make It Right house. (Photo by Doug MacCash, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)